Summer Camp Thailand: Chiang Mai

Get immersed in Thai culture, teach in local schools & make a difference in a magical city nestled in Thailand’s jungles.

Limited 3 Week Places May to September 2019 for £899

Work Hard, Play Hard, Make an Impact

Surrounded by mountains and jungles, Chiang Mai is a magical city in the north of Thailand.

It's the perfect location for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure where you’ll meet new people and make a real difference to local communities!

You’ll visit and teach local children in Thai schools.

You'll also get up close and personal with elephants at an amazing elephant nature park, and take part in activities as diverse as bamboo rafting, a temple tour and more.

Chiang Mai itself has lots to offer, including the beautiful Chiang Mai university.

It also has a famous night market where you can shop and listen to live music, and the sacred mountaintop temple of Wat Phra That Doi Suthep.

And don’t worry about the heat - if it gets too much, you can always chill out by your very own swimming pool!

Your action-packed itinerary

Available Tours & Extras

Island Hopping Tour (£449)

A visit to Thailand is incomplete without a visit to the country’s incredible islands. Our Island Hopping Tour takes in Koh Phangan, Koh Tao and Koh Nangyuan, where the white sandy beaches, looming palm trees and crystal-clear oceans have to be seen to be believed.

Extended Bangkok Tour (£79)

The perfect opportunity to explore Bangkok while getting to know your friends for the next month! You’ll immerse yourself in Thai Culture and get a taste of the city that never sleeps.

What people say about Camp Thailand

Veronica

"Exceptional, once in a lifetime experience!"

I had an amazing time in Thailand as all the reps were very helpful and friendly, as they always went the extra mile to make the experience great. The accommodation was lovely and all the trips I took part in were excellently organised. I would go back in a heartbeat.

How much does it cost?

Pay to Camp Thailand

£899

This covers your accommodation & transport within Thailand.

It includes your £10 booking fee and £99 deposit to secure your place.Don't want to pay the rest all at once? We offer payment plans from as little as £50 per month.

Criminal Background Check

£49

Additional Costs

There are other costs to consider for your trip and we can help to get you a great deal and make sure everything is in place.

Flights

Insurance

Medical

Tours & Extras

Your Questions Answered

Camp Thailand is not everyone’s idea of a holiday and it’s not always relaxing. At times you may find yourself in testing circumstances, as you would when experiencing any new culture. There may be bad weather, mosquitos, long journeys, slow Wi-Fi and limited food options. Here at Camp Thailand, we believe this comes with stepping out of your comfort zone and into the unknown. We love it, as have thousands of previous Camp Thailand attendees, but we realise it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Before applying to take part in Camp Thailand, please understand that it’s a cultural experience. It isn’t a luxury holiday, and one of our main focuses is to make a positive impact, which comes with hard work. We cannot guarantee you will have a relaxing time. You have to come to Camp Thailand with a sense of adventure, go with the flow, and be laid back. Basically, YOU are the deciding factor in the experience you have at Camp Thailand.

We provide the setup and infrastructure for you to have an incredible experience. However, this is only half of it. The other half comes from you. Your passion to help others, your spirit to do something different, your ability to make friends and go with the flow. You get out what you put in and if you give it your all, together we will have an amazing experience at Camp Thailand.

Passport: A full passport valid for the duration of your stay is required. Please check that you still have at least 6 months left in your passport from the time you arrive in Thailand.

Visa: For visitors from most Western countries that are arriving in Thailand by air and are staying for 30 days or less, no visa is normally required. For visitors from most Western countries that are arriving in Thailand by sea or land, only a 15-day visa will be granted. So, if you are a visitor from a Western country, arriving by air and planning on staying in Thailand continuously for over 30 days, or arriving in Thailand by land or sea you will need to apply for a tourist visa from your nearest Thai consulate. A single entry, 60-day tourist visa allows you to stay in Thailand for 60 days and can be extended from within Thailand just before expiration for a further 30 days at an additional cost of 1,900 THB. If you are planning on doing the Cambodia trip, or any other travel to other countries while you are here in Asia and then coming back to Thailand, you are best advised to apply for a double entry, 60-day tourist visa.

Please note that you can google the address of your nearest Thai consulate and then download the forms online from the consulate to apply for the tourist visa. The stated purpose of your visit will be tourism only.

You can then simply follow the application process provided in the online forms by the consulate and apply in person or through the mail. If applying in person you need to submit your forms and documentation on a weekday (normally before noon local time) and then collect your passport with visa the following afternoon (normally after 2 pm local time).

Please note that the rules for visas often change and we are not liable for this. Your visa is your responsibility and we have no control or influence over the Royal Thai Consulate.

Certainly! With so many amazing places in Thailand, we encourage this. You can travel on your own or join our Island Hopping Tour! Each member of our team is well travelled and will have visited Thailand many times, so we are always happy to give you travel advice.

Your Camp Thailand program fee does not include the cost of your transportation to Thailand, or your transportation out of Thailand when your Camp Thailand program finishes.

However, we do have a dedicated in-house flight team who can help you secure the best deal possible on air travel to and from the Camp.

We can defer your placement acceptance offer to a future intake date that must be initiated within 12 months from your original intake date.

Please note that all deposits are non-refundable so you would be best advised to take out a travel insurance policy that will cover this if there is even a slight chance that you will not be coming to Camp Thailand.

You will stay in a bright and airy, bunk-bedded room, typically with 3-5 other people (of the same gender as you). We also have a couple of dorm-style rooms which house up to 12 people.

Most of the rooms are fan-cooled and in some locations have air-con. During most months of the year, Thailand has a tropical climate, and the Summer months are much hotter and more humid than the winter months.

Most Camp Thailand participants find it fun to stay in the bunk-bedded rooms with their new friends, but if you are travelling with a partner and wish to have more privacy, you may want to consider your own private room for the duration of your stay. To discuss this further, please contact the office.

Yes - Wi-Fi will be available either in a communal area or in your room. We try our best to ensure that Wi-Fi is available in most areas of your accommodation.

In Thailand, most people live in dwellings without kitchens as cheap, fresh and delicious food is available everywhere. There is an on-site restaurant at Camp B’s Guest House, offering a variety of choices of fresh Thai food that are both delicious and inexpensive.Popular Western food choices are also available here.

At all our Camps we have 7/11 shops that are open 24 hours, plus other convenience stores within a five-minute walk of the accommodation. There are also a large number of eating establishments in the immediate vicinity of your Camp Thailand location.

The meals that are included are the delicious lunches that are provided by the Thai schools on the days you are teaching there. Please note that in some cases we will be in the schools for under two hours, and temple schools and orphanages don’t have the budget to provide lunch.

Don’t worry though - there is an abundance of inexpensive, fresh and delicious food from the many food stands and small family restaurants.

You can buy cheap, delicious and healthy Thai food for breakfast from many of the local street vendors in the surrounding area.

For about 1.20 GBP per kilo (approx. 2.25 lbs), local laundry services will wash your clothes early morning and return them washed and neatly pressed the following afternoon.

You will get at least one day off a week (usually at the weekends). However, we run activities on your days off. You’re usually only in the schools for around 4-6 hours a day, leaving the rest of the afternoon to explore and partake in weekly activities or explore the local area.

Thailand is very cheap, and it depends how well you can, or need to, budget. For further advice, contact our team and we can help you come up with an idea how much you will need to budget for.

Definitely! You will be making friends from the moment you land in Thailand - friends you will keep for life after sharing such an amazing experience.

You will receive a packing list as part of the ‘Pre-Departure pack’ which you will be sent prior to leaving for Camp, but here’s just a few items we recommend taking;

Mosquito spray

Sun cream

Warm weather clothing

A padlock

A camera to capture all your amazing experiences

You will also want to bring your own towel and washcloth as only bed linens are provided at Camp

The choice is yours, but a backpack is definitely more suitable for travelling around Thailand. Plus, you don’t want to look like a starry-eyed first time traveller dragging around a heavy suitcase, looking like you just landed at a 5* resort in Europe!

Personal Insurance, covering the time you will be in Thailand plus any activities that you will be undertaking, as well as any planned travel to other countries.

A DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) Check. If you are a UK national, Camp Thailand will arrange your DBS check for you for a fee of £48.86. If you are coming from another country you will need to contact your local police department and initiate the process yourself to get the DBS equivalent from your country. If you are from another country and would like some guidance, feel free to call our office on 0161 222 3780. Please note that even if you already hold a DBS certificate, unfortunately we must still conduct our own check.

You should wear your Camp Thailand polo shirt in the schools. One will be issued to you as part of your program fee. However, you may want to purchase one or more of these shirts at a cost of 12.50 GBP each, as you will be teaching in the schools for up to 4 days during any given week, meaning that there will not be enough time for cleaning if you only have one shirt. If you don’t wish to wear the polo shirt, men will need to wear smart collared, buttoned shirt, short or long sleeves and women will need to wear blouses with capped shoulders and no plunging necklines.

When visiting schools, men are normally required to wear long smart trousers. Women have the choice of long, smart slacks, a full length dress with capped shoulders and no plunging neckline, or a knee length skirt with a blouse with capped shoulder and no plunging necklines.

When visiting Mini-English Summer Camps, the only approved top for men and women is the Camp Thailand Polo shirt.

In the Mini-English Summer Camps, men can wear long smart trousers or knee length trousers. Women can do the same, but trousers must be loose fitting rather than body-clinging and your polo shirt should be not tucked in if you are a female.

Please remember you must wear capped toe shoes, and definitely no flip flops at school.

All forms of body art (tattoos) must be covered and body piercings must be removed. However, earrings can be kept in.

You must remember that teachers are revered in Thailand and the children are brought up to respect teachers. Whilst Thailand is very tolerant of all religions and cultures, and although you will see Thai people with tattoos and piercings, Thai society prefers its children not to be exposed to this, wherever possible, until they become young adults.

Thai culture is very polite, respectful, conservative and modest. Please try to adapt and be respectful of all Thai culture. Please remember that you are a guest in this country and you should try to behave as you would if you were invited to someone’s home for the first time.

As part of your program participation, you will be required to attend a compulsory pre-departure orientation meeting held at our head office in Manchester, UK. It’s an amazing way to meet the Camp Thailand Team and get a taste for what a day in our office is like. We will go over everything about Thailand and what you can expect so you are fully prepared for the time of your life.

Under extenuating circumstances, we are able to offer a Skype orientation at a time that suits you. This will be at a cost of £25. Please contact the office for more information.